Chautauqua Institution - Chautauqua's Impact On Adult Education

Chautauqua's Impact On Adult Education

The Chautauqua movement spread throughout the United States and was highly popular until the start of the World War II. By the mid-1920s, when circuit Chautauquas were at their peak, they appeared in over 10,000 communities to audiences of more than 45 million; by about 1940 they had run their course.

The ideals of the Chautauqua Institution were spread throughout the United States through a number of Independent Chautauqua assemblies, and a series of traveling Circuit Chautauqua assemblies, incorporating many of the program components of the Institution, including lectures, music, nondenominational preaching, and a focus on current issues. Several Independent Chautauquas continue into the 21st century.

The Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle (CLSC), founded in 1878 by Bishop Vincent, is America's oldest continuously operating book club. It was founded to promote self-learning and study, particularly among those unable to attend higher institutions of learning. Six to nine books are added to the reading list each year, with authors generally coming to Chautauqua to discuss their writing and to talk with readers.

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